Beyond Theranos: 12 Emerging Blood Testing Startups File IPO Prospectus with Focus on Early Disease Detection

Some startups focused on early-stage disease blood tests are now validating diseases and aiding in disease prevention efforts through liquid biopsies and biomarker testing.

Theranos was the leader in the field of blood testing until recently, with strong momentum in early 2015. However, on October 16, 2015, The Wall Street Journal raised questions about Theranos, primarily targeting its technology department. This was followed by federal investigations, sanctions, and lawsuits against Theranos.

We have taken stock of early-stage blood-testing startups founded in the wake of The Wall Street Journal’s negative coverage of Theranos, and reviewed their financing activities. Our aim is to highlight potential opportunities in the blood-testing sector for investors, despite the adverse publicity. Among these startups, many are working to address medical challenges ranging from lung and colorectal cancer to Alzheimer’s disease. Five healthcare-focused startups stand out, each specializing in a different disease area:

Tumor:Grail、Clinical Genomics、CellMax Life、20/20 GeneSystems、Acuamark Diagnostics、X-Zell；

Neurodegenerative Diseases:Pre Diagnostics；

Chronic Diseases:Brainshake；

Pregnancy-Related Diseases:Metabolomic Diagnostics；

Others:BBB Technologies, Werlabs, InnaMed；

Based on information from the CB Insights website, we have selected the following 12 startups in the blood testing industry. These companies have completed their seed rounds or Series A financing but have not yet undertaken Series B financing. We have ranked them according to their total current funding. VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has compiled this detailed overview for you.

Grail is a company developing a cancer detection platform that has introduced a technology for directly measuring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood, a process known as liquid biopsy. Grail’s primary technical service offering is the early detection of cancer in asymptomatic individuals through blood tests. Its publicly disclosed total funding amounts to $100 million, with investors including ARCH Venture Partners, Bezos Expeditions, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Illumina, and Sutter Hill Ventures.

From Grail’s perspective, nucleic acids from most tumors are shed into the bloodstream. The detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) constitutes a direct assay of cancer DNA, rather than an indirect assessment of cancer’s physiological effects. Their goal is to identify cancer at its early stages, when treatment options are still viable, by employing their proprietary “ultra-deep” sequencing technology, thereby reducing global cancer mortality rates. In the United States, at least half of all cancers are diagnosed at Stage III or Stage IV, resulting in lower survival rates among cancer patients. Conversely, detecting cancer at its earliest stages significantly increases the likelihood of successful treatment and long-term survival.

Therefore, in January 2016, Grail was established as a subsidiary of Illumina, a manufacturer of DNA sequencing technologies. Its goal is to detect all types of early-stage cancers through simple blood tests, offering greater accuracy than mammograms or prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests. Grail’s technology, known as liquid biopsy, detects tumor-derived DNA and RNA molecules that circulate freely in the bloodstream. After isolating tumor nucleic acids from other genetic material in the blood via ultra-deep sequencing, researchers in both academia and industry believe that characteristic signs of certain cancers can be identified through a simple blood draw. Furthermore, liquid biopsy technology holds the potential to reduce the number of patients diagnosed at late stages of cancer by providing more scalable and less invasive screening methods.

Overview of GRAIL's Financing

Clinical Genomics’ Colvera, a blood-based test specific for colorectal cancer, focuses on rectal cancer. It shares some similarities with Grail’s products, as it also diagnoses the disease by detecting the presence of two cancer-associated genes in circulating blood. By applying methylated DNA biomarkers to colorectal cancer, the company has developed a blood test with high sensitivity and specificity in the early stages of neoplasia. Reportedly, this test will be used to determine whether patients previously diagnosed with colorectal cancer are experiencing a recurrence. In March of this year, Clinical Genomics completed a $15 million Series A financing round led by OneVentures.

Overview of Clinical Genomics Financing

CellMax Life is a precision cancer blood testing company that provides genetic risk assessment for cancer and offers a comprehensive, personalized multi-biomarker technology platform for early detection and personalized treatment. The company has raised a total of $9 million in funding, led by Artiman Ventures with participation from Stan Shih. CellMax Life offers multi-biomarker cancer blood tests to assess genetic risks for 24 types of cancer, including lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers. In November 2016, the company launched its flagship product, CellMax CRC-Protect, a multi-biomarker blood test for the early detection of colorectal cancer, which is currently being sold in Taiwan. Additionally, CellMax Life has released saliva-based genetic cancer testing technology.

Overview of CellMax Life’s Financing

20/20 GeneSystems has developed a blood test that has been validated and undergone clinical trials for the early detection of lung cancer, securing a total of $8.25 million in investment from the National Cancer Institute, Keiretsu, Ping An Ventures, and other investors.

20/20 GeneSystems aids in the early detection of lung cancer by using a combination of four biomarkers. This test measures a panel of biomarkers, incorporates patient health data, risk factors, and blood test results, and employs proprietary algorithms to generate a risk score, providing physicians with an tool to assess the likelihood of a patient developing lung cancer. Currently, the company is developing similar blood-based tests for the Asian market.

20/20 GeneSystems Financing Overview

Brainshake is a blood testing science company based in Finland, specializing in the chronic disease market and providing a wide range of biological data for routine healthcare. The company has completed its Series A financing, bringing its total investment to $6.24 million. Its main investors include COR Group, TJP Consulting, Finnvera, Nordea Bank, and Tekes.

Brainshake ushers in a new era of preventive medicine by providing extensive biological data through its blood testing service. With a single blood test, the company’s technology can simultaneously analyze metabolic biomarkers for over 220 chronic diseases, including cholesterol, lipids, and amino acids—a figure that is 50 times higher than that of current clinical lipid tests. This comprehensive data is key to assessing individual disease risks and enables routine health screenings within an affordable price range. The company offers a blood testing platform whose output holds significant scalability potential for preventive medical measures, such as metabolic biochemical assays.

Overview of Brainshake's Financing Status

BBB Technologies has established the world’s first Android-based blood testing platform. The company completed its seed round and Series A financing in January 2015 and August 2016, respectively, securing a total investment of $5.2 million from ID Ventures, Mirae Asset Ventures, and POSCO Venture Capital.

The product under development is a portable blood testing device named Elemark, accompanied by an integrated application. The platform incorporates features such as gamification, alert notifications, and messaging to remind patients to manage their blood tests. This monitoring can be conducted by patients at home, with data shared directly with physicians. The platform aims to facilitate more regular blood testing, which is highly relevant to the management of chronic diseases and medical research.

Overview of BBB Technology's Financing Status

Werlabs is a Swedish startup that offers patient-centric blood testing services. Its goal is to empower patients with the tools and knowledge to monitor their health, encapsulated in its motto: “Healthier through Knowledge.” The company allows customers to order blood tests at its service centers, which then generate referrals. Customers can subsequently have their blood drawn at local testing sites and receive their results online within hours or days. In this way, Werlabs provides consumers with a means to take a more hands-on approach to their healthcare. To date, the company has completed two funding rounds—seed and Series A—raising a total of $4.28 million. In January 2015, it secured $200,000 in seed funding led by 3T Invest, with participation from Oscar Sahien and Philip Grufman. In August 2016, Werlabs closed a $3.78 million financing round, again led by 3T Invest, with additional investment from Sunstone Capital and several angel investors.

Overview of Werlabs' Financing Situation

Metabolomic Diagnostics, an Irish startup, has launched a revolutionary blood test service that can assess a woman’s risk of developing preeclampsia in late pregnancy as early as 15 weeks of gestation. Preeclampsia is a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication diagnosed by the presence of protein in the pregnant woman’s urine and high blood pressure, and it often leads to preterm birth. Efforts are currently underway to validate and commercially develop the platform.

Metabolomic Diagnostics is a predictive pregnancy diagnostics company jointly established by University College Cork (UCC) and the Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH). In June this year, it completed a $2 million financing round, with investors including SOS Ventures, Enterprise Ireland, Enterprise Equity Limited, and AIB Seed Capital Fund. The predictive diagnostic testing services offered by the company hold significant potential to transform global maternal and fetal care, as they provide two key drivers for improving healthcare: enhancing the quality of care and reducing costs.

Overview of Metabolomic Diagnostics’ Financing Status

Pre Diagnostics, a blood diagnostics startup based in Norway, operates on the principle that product development should be firmly grounded in science. The company aims to develop advanced and patient-friendly in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products for disease detection, thereby generating returns for its partners and early investors. In November 2015, it completed a $1.6 million seed funding round, with the investors remaining undisclosed.

Currently, Pre Diagnostics is developing a blood-based diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease. Leveraging the discovery of new biomarkers, the company aims to enable diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in the early stages, prior to symptom onset. Such tests remain unavailable on the market. The company plans to release a research-use-only version of the test in 2017.

Overview of Pre Diagnostics' Financing Status

Acuamark Diagnostics offers blood-based testing solutions for the early diagnosis of cancer, leveraging its proprietary technology to achieve highly accurate detection. The company aims to identify early-stage cancers through this high-precision technology. Last month, Acuamark Diagnostics secured $1.48 million in seed funding from NGN Capital.

Currently, the company offers two testing platforms: Eagle i5 and Eagle iSEQ. The former detects cancer biomarkers, such as genetic mutations and subsequently sequenced DNA extracted directly from plasma. Acuamark Diagnostics initially focused primarily on colorectal cancer detection, but it plans to achieve early diagnosis for most major types of cancer.

Overview of Acuamark Diagnostics' Financing Status

X-Zell is a blood-testing company focused on early cancer diagnosis. The company presented its technology at Y Combinator’s Winter 2016 Demo Day in March, demonstrating a 90% success rate. Also in March, it secured $120,000 in seed funding from Y Combinator.

X-Zell is a simple blood test for early cancer detection that isolates cancer cells from healthy cells in a blood sample, deposits them onto standard glass slides, and enables pathologists to evaluate the results for early-stage cancer.

Overview of X-Zell's Financing

InnaMed is dedicated to developing blood testing products that are easy to use at home and can connect to the cloud and mobile devices, enabling personalized health services. The company uses “cards” equipped with microneedle technology to collect blood samples, which are then inserted into a device called HealthScale for analysis. InnaMed plans to produce five types of “cards” for chronic disease management, health tracking, general health status, reproductive pregnancy, and infectious disease diagnosis. In late August this year, InnaMed completed its seed funding round, raising $20,000 from Boomtown Accelerator.

Overview of InnaMed's Financing